The Golden Red
by AlmineGoneWild
Summary: And in that moment, the surprise wasn't that we were practically the same age and it wasn't that she was the leader of a group considered as S-Ranked criminals throughout the five Great Nations. It was more the fact that no matter how long I stared on in shock, no matter how much I was trying to deny it; her face was my face and somehow we were one in the same. Practically Twins!
1. Prologue

_Devastated! It was the only word to describe the condition of the Hidden Leaf Village. Last night, the nine tails had attacked after being unleased from its jinchuriki host – not that anybody needed to know that. After all the remaining bodies were present and accounted for, all the people took time to clean up the streets and count the fallen from the attack. A funeral would be held when it was time._

 _Kakashi Hatake looked down with deep regret. Last night had been heart wrenching to him. It wasn't just because his teacher and his wife - who would dote on their team occasionally in the past - had died. No it was because he felt like a failure to them. He stared down at the blonde haired baby being cared for by a nurse at the moment with absolute caution. She'd already heard through the grapevine what was contained by the child and was completely wary of it. Kakashi felt saddened that she didn't see him as a newborn or a hero at all. Just a nuisance she could probably do without. It also saddened him, that because of him, that baby would grow up completely alone now._

 _He'd been there to witness the deaths of his master and his master's wife. He'd watched as, as soon as the barrier had fallen, a man in a mask that looked like driftwood twisted into a spiral encompassing one eye had swooped in and had kidnapped the two children that'd been laid peacefully together. He along with Gai who had broken apart from their guarded group earlier, had pursued them with Lord Third leading the way. In the valley of the end, he fought with everything he had with his teammates to get back the stolen children. Then he'd watched amazed as a hand made of chakra reached out from the baby girl and pushed her and her brother away from the man and out his grip._

 _Gai had continued to fend off the enemy while Lord third had caught the boy and then Kakashi had dived down the steep waterfall, picking up speed in order to catch the girl who was reaching out for someone to stop her fall. He'd been caught off guard as a shadow clone of the masked man halted him in his descent until he'd managed to roll them both off the stone they'd landed on, dispersing the clone with a kunai. However, the hesitation had been just enough to make him too late. Never before had he been so mortified._

 _He'd had to live through life without a mother who'd died when he was too young. Then he'd been alone as his own father took his own life. Next he'd had to live through a bloody war in which he'd had to kill many and then he was forced to watch as his best friend and rival, died in a rockslide caused by the enemy. He'd been forced to kill his other comrade later because she'd impaled herself heart first onto his lightning blade and then he'd watched his teacher and the woman who'd been like a surrogate mother to all of them die by the claw of the nine tails to protect their children. However…none of that could ever compare to the strangled cry given by the baby girl as she met the churning waters of the waterfall; the cry of an infant being taken by the elements before she ever got a chance to grow and leaving her brother to his fate._

 _When he'd returned from that night, his other friends and comrades who still lived could tell he wasn't himself. Gai knew as he'd watched it happen as well while he'd fought the kidnapper and apparent attacker of the Leaf. He knew how hard it had hit Kakashi as he too had heard the strangled cry from the infant. He too would forever be changed by such a tragedy. But for Kakashi it would be worse as it had added itself to the top of the pile of regrets he had. Never before had he felt so…lost._

 _It was now that he forced his eyes to turn away from the baby Naruto. He shunshined away from the area and landed on the ground a bit of ways away where he began walking through the village with a heavy heart. He would occasionally stop to stare up at the clouds and ask whatever god there might be why everyone he got close to had to suffer and perish; why he was left alive to suffer through the torment of his failures again and again. As he walked further through the village, he sensed a presence before him. He glanced up to see Gai looking at him with concern. He sighed tiredly._

 _"_ _What is it Gai?" he asked dejectedly. Gai remained silent for a bit before blinking and allowing his comrade's words to catch up to him._

 _"_ _Huh, oh," he said shaking his head clear. Then he brought a fist up and coughed into it before looking Kakashi in the eyes. He held up something that looked familiar._

 _"I know what happened was tragic; I for one am devastated to have watched that precious youth be taken away. But I did some searching and came up with the remainders. There was no body!"_

 _Kakashi shuddered at the thought before taking in the small baby blanket that was being held out to him. It looked slightly damp as if it'd been in the water too long. He took it and held it up to see a name elegantly stitched into the bottom. Unfolding it, it had the pattern of an aurora borealis. He smiled sadly remembering Kushina's last words in Lord Third's arms had been to tell them the names of her children. Kushina had named the unexpected twin after the colourful lights of the sky that sometimes appeared in colder and more northern regions closer to the land of iron or the land of mist._

 _"_ _I thought it could be a part of a shrine or something. We could set it up right next to her parents," Gai suggested. Kakashi nodded. However, instead he pocketed the small blanket causing Gai to give him an odd look. However, he didn't press the matter. Kakashi walked by him._

 _"_ _This blanket is too wet and dirtied. I'll wash it!" he stated without any sign of feeling behind it. Gai nodded._

 _"I think a shrine is a good idea," he added as he continued walking. Once again Gai nodded._

 _"_ _Alright then! I've already asked Lord Third. We'll set it up before the funeral." Kakashi nodded solemnly as he continued to trek on. Eventually he left Gai behind completely and made it to his own residence which just like his life remained intact despite the massive damage and carnage surrounding it. Once inside, he lay down on his bed with a groan and stared up at the ceiling, letting the minutes tick by. Daylight soon began to fade and he was still lost in his thoughts. Finally he pulled out the blanket from earlier and held it high to stare at it._

 _He lifted his headband from over his left eye to stare with his sharingan – another gift from someone he couldn't save. He let the bloodline limit trace and memorize every little detail of the blanket before shoving his headband down again and bringing the blanket up to his nose. He inhaled deeply and was pained yet relaxed as he could still smell the remnants of the child beyond the dampness and must. After a while, he rose from the bed again and added it to the pile of dirty laundry in the laundry basket._

 _Then he went downstairs and thankfully the room with the laundromat wasn't as full. He paid the price for the machines and washed his clothes but did the blanket separately. The same happened with the dry cycle. Once it was done, he took it all upstairs again and switched on the light to his now dark apartment. Finally he set the clothes hamper down and picked up the blanket again to smell it. Despite the added scent of the detergent and dryer sheets he'd used, the blanket still smelled like her. He didn't know why, but it brought him relief to smell the scent of their child. He wondered if the other one with the nurse smelled the same but shook the thought from his head. He'd be seen as a creep if he went around sniffing babies._

 _Finally, when he'd had enough of it, he folded the little blanket and placed it neatly on his bedside table. That night he had dinner alone and had a long night of – thankfully – dreamless sleep._

* * *

 _The next few days saw him and Gai along with some of their friends putting together then finishing up the shrine to the little girl. By then the rumours of the fourth hokage's wife having been pregnant had passed around and were closely followed by the rumours that their only daughter was killed after birth by the nine tails. The village mourned for the loss of the child while for safety reasons, Naruto's identity as her twin brother remained a secret amongst a faction of trusted advisors under Lord Third Hokage._

 _On the day of the funeral all the villagers brought her offerings and gifts they could find and give. The shrine had been built right underneath her parents graves, in between the two. Kakashi stood through the speech from the third hokage in a daze, not really registering his words or that the funeral had ended moments later until Asuma had to shake him from his stupor._

 _As time passed by, the shrine would be visited on the date of her birth to commemorate the daughter of the hokage and his wife. She'd receive birthday gifts each year that were later stored in a special shrine house for her when the event was over. Kakashi would frequent often while watching her younger brother growing up from afar with a saddened heart at how his sister was treated fairer than him while dead while he didn't know he had a sister for he'd been given his mother's last name and she'd been given her father's. Each time he'd visit, he'd bring her blanket which he kept in his house for a reason he couldn't define and drape it over her continuously reappearing teddy bear as if it were her. He'd talk to her and sometimes even apologize. Eventually, she became another excuse for him to be late to somewhere._

 _But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The truth is…well the truth is unbelievable. However, by miracle of miracles; the spirit of the little girl is alive and she remains a part of the living world. But to tell her story right, I need to tell it my way. So…hold onto your seats because I'm about to reveal to you the truth of the fourth Hokage's daughter and just as a warning; it's not all pretty. I would know. Why you may ask? Because my name is Aurora Namikaze Uzumaki and this story is mine! So pay attention!_

* * *

 ** _AN: I had started this story with a different prologue before but in all honesty when I returned to the beginning of the planning phase and re-read it, I realized it wasn't the best way to start this off. So be assured that all details will be revealed to answer specific questions as chapters move along. Also know that if there comes a long pause in the postings then it is not because I'm lazy it's because I am a University student which kind of preoccupies my time and also I'm not that great at writing out fight scenes in great detail so those parts take time. And finally, I do have other stories I'm trying to produce. So wrapping all that up; I hope you enjoy the new prologue to the Golden Red. There's more to come so stay tuned._**


	2. Enter: The Golden Red

**_Aurora_**

I yawned as I felt the morning sun's rays reach me under the roots of the tree that'd been giving me shelter for the night. My body knew it was time to wake up and I did too but the dream I'd had the previous night was distracting me from doing so as I tried to recall the details. I hated it when I had a dream that I forgot the next morning. It meant that it'd been a dream about my past that was focused on the day of my birth and that I barely remembered anything except for the soft voice of a read headed woman whose face I couldn't see blocking out the face of a man behind her whom I also couldn't quite see was quite infuriating.

Then there would also be crying and I wouldn't know whether it was coming from me or from the other presence I felt beside me. And then I would hear the same speech again from the woman who would say my name and tell me how I should take care of myself and be as good as I could be and what not. Then the rest just got garbled up as if she were choking on tears or blood and then her voice would fade away then the man would start speaking but I wouldn't hear him at all because for some reason they were too far away now.

Finally deciding to give it a rest and that I wouldn't be remembering anything more about my dream than the usual, I finally lifted myself up, yawing again as I stretched out my front paws in front of me and arched my back, curling my beautiful three tails behind me and then stretched them out again.

I licked my chops as I was dehydrated and looked around to see my siblings all sleeping soundly, myself being the first one up again…as usual. I slowly made my way over towards the clean water of the small lake just beside our resting place and began to drink thirstily from the pristine waters which sparkled with the beauty of the morning sun.

My siblings and I had been traveling yet again from place to place throughout the shinobi world, raising havoc and chaos wherever we went whether it was stealing from unworthy people or getting into fights with thugs and mercenaries among other things. The cause for our behavior is basically our boredom. In ways of entertainment, there isn't much offered by just shinobi alone and as demon fox kits wandering about with no real home to call our own, we basically take whatever we can get or create for ourselves.

Oh that's right, I said demon fox kits. See as the story goes, I was adopted into a demon fox tribe after I was rescued by a roaming spirit lady and brought to their den. Immediately, mama fox took me in with love and care even though she'd discovered that I wasn't like normal humans. I had almost instantly transformed into a physical demon fox kit as soon as I'd been upset by something and mama deemed me as a half demon fox who used to actually be human. She and the elders believe that the sprit lady transformed me to save my life. But that's not even the icing on the cake.

My brain was developing faster than an average human's by the age of three and so I had already been taught most of the lessons humans would teach like how to talk and read and stuff. What? Demon foxes are literate too. The same goes for summoning animals.

Well anyways it was at this tender age that mama told me of my true origins and said that my real parents wherever they might be were actually human. That same night I'd fallen asleep only to awaken into my mindscape and see a giant beast looming over me. I realized that it was a nine tailed fox like mama was - although her fur is white - and thought it was odd that he was inside of me. Of course when he tried to kill me after my attempt at conversation I'd instantly acted on instinct and accidentally re sealed him with a seal I somehow knew about from one of my weirder dreams and thanks to my enormous amount of chakra, he was trapped inside of me forever – or until I decided otherwise.

The next day, mama told me more about the tailed beasts of the shinobi world and explained they were a bit different than average demons for in actuality they used to be a part of one being that had been split up into nine sections in order to bring order to the world. And then there were many wars fought for control over them and eventually they were sealed inside people dubbed jinchuriki.

When I realized that I was a jinchuriki then, I'd gaped like a fish and had no idea how to react. Of course none of us knew how this had happened to me so we just assumed that the humans did it before I'd been found by mama. It also would explained how and why I'd been transformed into a Halfling by the spirit lady seeing as how his DNA is somehow now fused with my own.

Then about two years later as we turned five, the demon tribes that shared the mountain pass with us began to gather to wage war for more territory and power. So our mama and the elders cast us kits out of our home in Demon's Berth, down into the shinobi world below so that we wouldn't get caught up in the turmoil.

Yup, that's right and you thought that all demons were monsters without feelings or regards for others didn't you? Nope, the truth is even though there have been many stories associated with demons made up by humans, they're pretty much just like any other creature trying to survive in this crazy world which also means that yes they are mortal. They just have ridiculously long lifespans. At least most of the human's summoning animals get that much.

But anyway…once we were cast out we found it relatively difficult to fit in anywhere. We tried several different towns and villages but all we got was the boot to the curb because apparently demon foxes who can shapeshift into humans are and I quote, "Monsters; killing machines; Demon brat you can't escape us in that girly disguise!" Yeah apparently the hidden leaf village's people are slightly more wary of our presence and we got chased away by a giant mob before we got very far.

Eventually we just decided to stick with wilderness living since it suited us best anyways. However, we were all alone without a mama; a proper home and without a purpose.

But that was the least of our troubles; because I have a bigger one that just won't leave me alone. There's a reason I can remember – even if only in blurry fragments – the day of my birth and then some afterwards. There's a reason I'm more intelligent than the average human being and a reason why for some reason, I can sense and feel all the emotions and feelings of every living creature at once and continuously. See…I was born…as a Locknvr.

For those of you who don't know; allow me to enlighten you. The term Locknvr is derived from ancient times; from a time where all creatures in the world big and small lived in peace and harmony with one another. Even if some of them hunted others it was still seen as peaceful times and Locknvr was a term they used to define those who had the ability to connect to one and all. They were capable of feeling another's emotions and pains as well as their own and this shared bond was what kept the world in sync.

However, long ago an ancient darkness descended - its source unknown to this day - that ended all of that peace. And soon the Locknvrs became feared. When the first wars between creatures big and small ravaged the world, the Locknvrs were seen as those who could easily gain the upper hand and overpower anyone with their power to understand and relate to all emotions. Many fought for control over the Locknvrs and their power, the mixed emotions of the warriors either driving them insane or crippling them.

Eventually, the Locknvrs became less and less as they all died off and those who were unlucky to become one would commit suicide if the pressures became too much. Even as the world settled down some and the demons of Demon's Berth took liberty to guard over that fragile peace, Locknvrs were all but an extinct species; still capable of awakening yet unable to withhold the pressure very long before they took their own lives and the humans never lasted long. The saddest part was when babies were born as awakened Locknvrs and were overwhelmed coming into the world so much so that they simply stopped breathing, refusing to go on.

There came a time however when a man known as the Sage of Six Paths and the greatest Shinobi to ever have lived apparently along with his younger brother and sister became awakened Locknvrs and survived. They were the ones in the legends of old who fought against the mad queen Kaguya who'd eaten of the divine fruit; a taboo to all. And they were also the ones to put a stop to the divine tree which had been draining the life force of our world.

And then there was the sister.

A woman who had sacrificed herself, becoming this world's second moon and trapping her estranged mother within. As the legend goes, her body is the moon trapping her mother and the ten tail's body - the original form of all tailed beasts - inside while her spirit still wanders the plain of the living. Her existence is merely a legend; a myth recorded in shinobi history, but the demons on the mountain know the true stories. Mama – who's older than one would think – was actually there to witness it all as a child. And it is said that the sister who still roams is capable of performing miracles. In fact, she is the one who mama says brought me to Demon's Berth and changed me.

But enough about that drabble, I'm getting off topic. Like I said before, I was born a Locknvr. And perhaps it's this that makes me one of the most revered and respected among my kin despite not sharing blood or a whole species with them.

As a surviving Locknvr, I am sensitive yet very strong and in control of myself - more so now than when I was younger. I will admit to almost having lost it and offing myself once but the man who found me that day had stopped me. I can sense and feel the emotions of those that surround me but Mama taught me how to circulate them through meditation in order to make it easier while I can also see people's pasts occasionally based off of those emotions but only if they're strong enough. Essentially, I am one who is connected to one and all - basically an empathy link but with bonus features - and despite what most people believe; it's a total pain in the ass.

But oh well, that's my life in a nutshell and I honestly wouldn't want it any other way. So back to present times.

Today was one of those days where we, the Fox Troop – the name of our little trouble making squad of which I'm the leader – would have to report back to our boss or rather our colleague. I've been working with him for a few years now as one of his apprentices and things have been going great. He started up his own little hidden village which I and the troop are now currently a part of for kicks and I'm one of his most trusted partners. Our partnership is more of a businesslike agreement. I learn from him, he gets portions of the loot we drag back to base and he gets my help with some of his experiments – even though I truly despise that part.

My full name is Aurora Uzumaki and I am currently twelve soon to be going on thirteen this October. It's around mid-August now so soon summer will come to a close and make way for autumn. Around that time our coats will start to thicken to accommodate us for the coming winter although we don't exactly need much more to coat us. Demons and even half demons have hotter blood than average humans or creatures and it helps to keep us warm in the snowy seasons. I'm not just a half demon though no; I'm more than that. A few years ago after an…incident…I was found by the man - okay technically a teenager - I mentioned earlier who stopped me from taking my own life.

After that, he took me in for a while to patch me up and eventually I ended up hounding him into making me his apprentice in order to learn the skills and arts of the shinobi. By the time I found my fox siblings again, I was a completely different person and in order to train them up too, I had us go in search of another master of the shinobi arts after I ditched my first teacher. Well…technically he told me to leave and I did. This new guy - who if you've hadn't already guessed - is the same 'colleague' I mentioned before. Did I mention that he's a nut-job?

He's completely obsessed with the idea of immortal life – which doesn't truly exist. Even if you live for decades and generations while never growing older, you 'will' eventually die. The proof to that being that demons live ridiculously long and are called immortals but they too eventually cease to be and die at their own time. Also there is such a thing as the Shinigami.

But anyways, after joining with the new guy, I learned from him that my last name is Uzumaki and that on my human parent's side, I'm a descendent of an impressive clan that was all but wiped out years ago during one of the shinobi wars. Their greatest alliance was with the leaf village and apparently that swirl symbol the leaf ninja wear on their uniform jackets is our clan slash village symbol from long ago. That they wear it symbolizes the memory of the allegiance. The clan itself was known far and wide for its Fuinjutsu capabilities and so it's no surprise that I've become quite the seal master. Apparently we also get longevity and chakra that's sometimes capable of healing others if it's consumed by the victims of injuries. However, there runs a risk with that so I'm trying to find a solution to it using my own chakra as an example.

I guess that's part of the fun of working for this guy. Since I've proven myself to him and I've made it clear a number of times that I'm not his puppet but his partner and have earned his absolute respect, I've been allowed to come and go as I please with my Fox Troop as a part of our deal and gather information plus conduct my own kind of experiments concerning the shinobi arts in order to better myself. In fact that seems to be what I'm mostly great at these days.

While the Fox Troop has become famous all over the five great nations and even in the Land of Iron, nobody has been able to catch us. There are reasons we are referred to as elusive and why I am called the Golden Red – the nickname I earned from the public a while ago.

A) I'm a half demon fox who's grown up to three tails already – as per the norm for demon foxes my age – thanks to my new genealogy.

B) My survival skills learned from the Demon's Berth Mountains while growing up with the demon fox tribe combined with my skills as a shinobi and having been apprentice to two of the most dangerous men alive plus experience make me and my group the best at espionage; combat - with low level shinobi, thugs, mercenaries, and other thieves - oh and not getting caught.

C) We're listed in the bingo books of every nation as dangerous S-ranked criminals with no known affiliation to any village and our true faces have yet to be seen by the public outside our partner's organization or by anyone from any of the Hidden Village's ANBU shinobi. The funniest part of all of this is…we're only genin level shinobi. Well actually, Rochi says I'm close to being promoted to Chunin so that'll be nice whenever it happens.

Oh yeah, right, speaking of Rochi, he said we should be meeting up at the hideout around noon. I guess that means I should wake the rest of these lazy fuzz butts then and stop reminiscing and thinking to myself. But first, I need to get ready.

I looked back up at the morning sky and shrugged to myself.

 _Ehn, we've got time to kill before noon_ , I grinned. _And that coincides quite nicely with my plan,_ I thought to myself.

I transformed subconsciously into my human form. As a human, I'm rather short. I don't have much of a problem with that except for when people make fun of my height while I'm being a 'kid' incognito in public. I have long, messy blonde hair that's naturally smooth at the top but slightly on the sticking out side as it goes down my back and the same problem spreads through my bangs. My bangs frame my face and added to my hair's splendor is a beautiful birthmark; a streak of vibrant red hair that starts at the roots of the strands in the center split of my scalp then runs down the middle making it look dyed from afar but is actually one of my natural hair colours. It mixes well with my blonde portion as it spreads out some, turning the hue near the crossover slightly orange making it the perfect transition into the other colours. Either way, I love my hair a lot. It's not because I'm a girly girl. It's actually because it reminds me of that dream I mentioned earlier. I believe the people in my dream are my birth parents and in my mind's eye, my red hair comes from my mother and my blonde hair comes from my father, because those are the hair colours they have in that dream.

I stretched my now nude body to the sky and walked across the water barefoot to get my ninja clothes. I pulled on a pair of underwear that were white with orange and blue polka dots. Next I pulled on a similar coloured and patterned bra as I'm beginning to 'develop' and 'Ka-bootie' – my nickname for Rochi's four eyed servant after I finally kicked his 'bootie' in practice – had insisted that Guren take me shopping when he noticed by accident in our fight.

After that, I pulled on my knee length blue shorts and tapered up one leg while attaching my shuriken and kunai holster in their respective places. Once I was satisfied with my lower half, I then pulled on my white T-Shirt with a red swirl that represents my clan over my head and pulled it down over my bra then grabbed my orange and blue sweater with the Sound village's insignia sewn on it interwoven with my clan symbol again – which I made myself when I had no money for clothes. Finally I carefully latched a golden locket around my neck and grabbed my Sound village headband, tying it onto my forehead and let my hair fall behind the cloth. I took a deep breath and sighed admiring the scenery for a bit longer before I turned towards my sleeping teammates and shouted at the top of my lungs,

 **"** **HEY; WAKE UP LAZY TAILS!"** They stirred some and I heard some groans and a few growls of protest. Meanwhile only one head shot up at attention right away and turned to me. She was then by my side in less than a second, excited as usual. She shifted into human form with a burst of fire – something they'd learned to do in order to blend in with me and other human kids on missions – and was also completely nude.

"Good morning big sister!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "I'm ready for a new day!" I looked her up and down.

"Are you now?" I questioned. "Aren't you forgetting something?" She paused for a moment before taking in her appearance in utterly over the top shock.

"Oh no I'm naked!" she exclaimed. I rolled my eyes then jabbed my thumb over to where the rest of the group's human clothes were strewn.

"Get changed ya loon," I sighed. She wasted no time in rushing over and getting dressed, leaving a silhouette of dust in her place to settle back onto the ground. I shook my head before I turned back to the rest of the group who were taking their sweet ass time to get moving. I sighed once more.

"Oh gee Dusty," I started, speaking over dramatically louder than usual. "It looks like these guys are too tired." I paused before letting an evil smirk grace itself on my face.

"Too tired for a Dango run. Looks like we'll be going by ourselves!" Dusty looked up curiously as she pulled up her ninja skirt over her leggings.

"Huh?" she said. Meanwhile, the threat only hung in the air for a few minutes before two more heads bolted upright and then were by my side as humans too.

Usually for someone normal, the fact they stood nude before me would be bothersome and awkward. Not with this group though. If we didn't care about what we looked like as foxes in front of one another then we sure as hell didn't care what we looked like as humans either whether we were nude or not. I guess it comes with growing up with practically wild animals.

"Dango?" exclaimed Rutt excitedly.

"Where; when!?" asked his twin Tutt. I sighed shaking my head and jabbed a thumb over where Dusty was getting ready.

"Get changed first and I'll tell ya later," I said. They wasted no time in rushing over even fighting over their clothes for a bit before they started getting ready. I then glanced back at my remaining sister. Cocoa, my second in command of the Fox Troop was usually the hardest to wake up early in the morning. She hated it…a lot. But I was leader and whenever I said it was time to wake up; it was time to wake up; even if my subordinates didn't like it.

"Oh Cocoa," I sing sang sweetly as I tiptoed over to where she was resting. Her fox fur was a deep chocolate brown on her top half but her underbelly was lighter and looked more like caramel. The reason why we called her Cocoa was because she looked like a chocolate fox. I could sense the others behind me stiffening some as they watched how I was going to wake up lazy diva queen this morning.

As I got closer I could hear the low growl coming from her within her lower chest area that warned me against trying anything. I had no doubt we'd end up fighting if I didn't listen. So I decided on a different approach. I giggled.

"Ya know, you can't stay in bed all day," I teased her. She growled again.

"Watch me," she seemingly hissed. The twins laughed at my attempt and I just stuck my tongue out at them. I crept closer. The growling intensified.

"Nah, I think it'd be a lot more fun to jump ya," I stated matter of factly. I was close enough now that she could spin around and swipe at me with her claws, canines born near my face or throat. Of course, I expertly dodged it and let her settle back down again. The twins continued to snicker and I made a mock gesture that asked if they'd like to give it a try to which they immediately quieted down. I sighed shaking my head and scratching the back of my neck.

"Alright, stay in bed if ya like; I don't care," I said with a mock sigh. "I guess that means that the twins, Dusty and I will be pulling this next heist on the 'thirteen' without your help!" Her ears suddenly perked up and I knew I had her. Meanwhile, Dusty who'd finished dressing bounded forward with stars in her eyes.

"Really; we're pulling a heist today?" she asked gleefully. I grinned.

"Yup!" I replied popping the 'P'. I then chose a tree root to sit on and began to explain. "I've been trailing this one guy for a while now and he's that noble guy we missed out on when there was a conference a while back," I explained. The twins came up now.

"Really," questioned Tutt.

"Heh, those guys were such tools," Rutt mocked. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but now's our chance to redeem ourselves. I learned that he's been raising the taxes in his home village on the townspeople and such. He's taken all of their rights away and they're trapped because there's only one way into the village and it's guarded heavily by his hired thugs and mercenaries which also include some rogue ninjas too. So today; I thought we'd help out by liberating the people by attacking his convoy which is to pass through the land of Fire from the capitol to the little village." The twins became pumped immediately.

"Heh, heh, dis is gonna be sweet!" exclaimed Rutt adopting a tuff guy accent. Tutt snickered.

"I'm gonna enjoy dis!" he agreed. Dusty blinked somewhat confused.

"So wait; are we liberating the Land of Waves?" she asked. I rolled my eyes and huffed.

"No Dusty; those guys were liberated by some Leaf village genin who were hired to protect that bridge builder guy remember? They got there before we did!"

"I heard Gato got his ass handed to him by one of his own hired men!" Rutt snickered. I nodded.

"He did. I double checked and it was Zabuza Momochi who got the final blow in though he died right after. Apparently the ninjas he was fighting with before Gato fired him weren't average and Haku died right in front of him so his emotions went all outta whack fighting that famous guy with the sharingan."

"You mean Kakashi Hatake from the Hidden Leaf village?" Cocoa asked sidling up to us. We didn't even need to question why she was suddenly awake and ready for action nor why she was dressed in her human form already so fast. I nodded in her direction.

"Yeah; that guy," I stated calmly. Then I grinned. "I've always wanted to meet him sometime in combat. It'd be great practice to keep up my training!" I admitted.

"Wait; Haku died!" Dusty exclaimed; the words I'd previously spoken catching up to her. She looked on the verge of tears. It was understandable since she and Haku had really hit it off when we'd run into the two missing mist ninja on one of our own missions. I smiled comfortingly in her direction and took her into a full on hug when she rushed me.

"Yeah but he did so fighting for his dream so it's okay. And Zabuza died while protecting Haku's honor." I explained. She nodded. Meanwhile Cocoa let out a low growl.

"Those jerks; I hope Gato's rotting in hell right now! Men like him…they make me mad enough to spit fire!" I couldn't help but sympathize with them all.

"I know; I know how you all feel but right now; if we don't focus then we let this other bastard from the council get away. Now…we've taken down three of the noble's council already and so far they haven't dared to hire any ninja because of how expensive they are and because what they're doing is illegal. However, this time they have hired Leaf shinobi and it just so happens to be a team of genin. Cocoa the map please!" I instructed. Before long, Cocoa had produced a powdery substance from one of her pouches on her waist belt. Then after imbuing it with her magic, she blew it out of her hand only for it to take the shape of a map of the five great nations.

I then used my own magic and zoomed in on a portion of the land of fire which was close to where we were and not too far from the hidden leaf as well. I pointed to a road.

"The convoy and ninja team will meet up here and the ninjas will escort them to another team of the man's own hired thugs and mercenaries here." I showed them the places on the map. Then I continued using a kunai as my pointer.

"There's a small side road stop over here along the road; we'll be getting breakfast there and yes; they do sell dango." The twins cheered and fist bumped one another.

"Finally; once we're full, we'll intercept them here before they reach the trade off point. I want their path sealed off. Dusty; Rutt and Tutt; I'll leave that to you guys. I'll oversee the group from above while Cocoa appears before them. We'll determine who's in the group and who should fight who. Then when we're sure; we'll engage and test our skills while leaving behind subtle hints at the man's true intentions. After that; we'll pull back with the loot then return what was taken from the townspeople and keep the rest for payment to Rochi. If all goes well; we'll only be fashionably late today!" I stood straight; proud of the plan I'd cooked up.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Rutt. "I can't wait to taste those Dango!"

"And the loots' gonna be sweet too!" his brother agreed. I rolled my eyes at their enthusiasm as Cocoa dispersed the map.

"So how much did our goody two-shoes steal from the unfortunate?" she asked with a smirk. I smirked back.

"Pretty much everything they had. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some people taken too! Oh and then he's also hauling his bonus he got from the state for being a nobleman so it's apparent what we're keeping!"

"Ooh, sounds exciting," she replied. I nodded. Dusty meanwhile was being Dusty and doing her happy dance.

"Shiny; shiny; shiny, shiny treasure!" she sang out in an annoying yet endearing way. I chuckled before turning about dramatically and facing my team.

"Alright! So let's hit the road and get to work!" I cheered. The twins and Dusty cheered loudly while I laughed good heartedly at the scene and Cocoa just smirked while she shook her head at us fondly; not really being one to partake in boisterous activities.

With that, the entire fox troop had gathered their things and we were all taking off into the trees on our way to the roadside eatery for a well-deserved breakfast. In time, we'd need the energy!

* * *

 ** _Naruto_**

 ** _Previous Morning:_**

 ** _8:45, Konoha_**

I'd been woken up early once again to meet my team at our usual meeting place and as usual…our sensei was late.

"Gah; where the hell is he this time!" I groaned. I probably could've slept in more if he wasn't gonna bother showing up for another hour. I had had to go to bed late last night on account of some of the villagers got drunk and trashed my apartment while I was doing some D-Ranked missions yesterday. I'd had to cover my broken window with a black cloth and spent the whole of the rest of the night cleaning up the carnage. I'd found a note from somebody – probably the vandals – on my kitchen table which had been overturned that'd said, _'_ _ **Quit being a ninja wannabe Demon Brat! If you don't quit it; we'll get you!**_ _'_ and then there'd been a crudely drawn picture of what they'd do to me.

Luckily when I approached gramps Hokage about the situation; they'd been found and quickly apprehended – just a bunch of civilians – and taken in for questioning and judgement. After that, I'd had trouble falling asleep as my ninja senses – which had been sharpened with training – were alerting me to every miniscule noise they sensed. I can't say I was all that mad but I still wish they would've just vandalized the outside instead of indoors. It would've been easier to clean and I wouldn't have to replace my bedroom window; my shower curtains or the front door.

"Just be patient Naruto; he'll be here. We should probably just expect this from him now," sighed my teammate Sakura Haruno – aka the most awesome and prettiest girl alive who's totally into me – pulling me from my thoughts. Regardless of her careless manner as she leaned against the rail of the bridge; I still couldn't find myself in the mood to be overly happy because of last night. I mean seriously; I get why every villager hates me ever since that traitor Mizuki Sensei opened his big mouth but what are these guys; kids? Even I had the curtesy to keep my own vandalism pranks on the outside of people's property…well actually there was that one where I reorganized gramps hokage's paperwork but I'd just wanted to see what he'd do. We'd been in a stalemate over certain privileges at the time. I shook my head and groaned.

"Yeah I know," I whined. "I just wish for once he would be less late than normal," I complained. Sakura furrowed her brows at me.

"Naruto…you look tired. Didn't you get any sleep last night?" she questioned. I glanced up her but didn't want her to worry so I just gave her my best smile.

"Yeah but it wasn't much. I just couldn't seem to get comfortable so it took a while to drift off ya know," I lied. Truthfully, I'd been scanning with my senses for even more perpetrators until I was certain none would be coming. She looked slightly concerned.

"Oh well...hopefully you don't need to worry about that tonight. Have you thought about repositioning your mattress? Your bed's one of those right?"

"Yeah um…I'll try that then," I replied wanting to change the subject from my poor sleeping habits. She thankfully didn't pursue anymore but I heard a scoff nearby and turned to glare at Sasuke who was looking elsewhere.

"Liar," he muttered under his breath just so I could hear. Seriously; what's his problem? He's so stuck up! I'll show him someday!

"Good morning everyone," called an irritatingly familiar voice.

"You're late!" I hollered at him for lack of anything better to do. I glared at him with annoyance. He just chuckled.

"Oh right; sorry about that…I was actually on my way when this elderly lady asked for help with her merchandise but we had to go another way because a black cat crossed our path and…"

"LIAR!" Sakura and I shouted at him accusingly. He just chuckled again nervously but brushed us off like always and landed down on the bridge with us.

"Well…now that I'm here…shall we go and see what kind of missions are in store for us today?" he questioned. I deadpanned with annoyance.

"I swear if I have to chase another cat…" I started.

"Oh come now Naruto, you know you have to earn your income somehow," Kakashi Sensei interrupted me. "Plus, these kinds of missions help build up teamwork!" I bristled.

"Oh yeah; then how come we can't go on another C-rank mission? Didn't we succeed on the last one!?" I accused. He sighed tiredly as he reached back to scratch his head.

"Technically; that was an A-rank mission after we got too in depth and while you all performed admirably; you still need to work on your teamwork skills a bit." I just pouted at his lame excuse. He sighed. "But if you're all on your best behaviour today; maybe I'll put in a request to Lord Hokage!" I smiled brightening at the idea.

"That's more like it!" I cheered. Then when I was done and opened my eyes, I noticed they were already leaving.

"Well…aren't you coming Naruto?" Kakashi Sensei teased. I ran to catch up.

"Hey; wait for me!" I called out. We made our way through the village to the hokage's tower. I was brimming with excitement – plus bitter acceptance as I had a feeling that Kakashi Sensei was probably going to get us set up with D-ranked missions for the day and only ask for a C-ranked one later. Whatever; at least we'd be getting one. We entered the Hokage's office just as another team of ninja were leaving from their debriefing of their mission results. Gramps Hokage looked up as we entered.

"Ah, team seven," he greeted us. "How're you all doing this fine morning?"

"Oh; we're well," Sakura replied. Sasuke just grunted the way he normally did. I grinned excitedly.

"Great old man! Now what've you got for us today!?" I asked with enthusiasm although I was sour at the thought of what missions might be available. He just grinned.

"Why I'm glad you asked that Naruto," Gramps chuckled. "Because you see; we've gotten a request for a C-ranked mission and squad seven has been requested as the team to execute it!" My eyes widened as I did a double take. I could tell the others were surprised as well.

"What; really, we've been requested to go on a C-ranked mission?" Sakura asked incredulously. Gramps hokage nodded sagely with a smile on his face.

"Indeed. The mission itself is quite simple. Let's just say our client heard how effective your squad was in the Land of Waves and was impressed. He wishes to hire your squad's services to be his escorts from the Capitol of the Land of Fire to his home in the farther reaches of the country. His convoy is transporting very valuable merchandise and it's believed that some common highway thugs and whatnot could try to steal it."

"Who's the client?" Sasuke asked getting to the point.

"He's a nobleman of the Fire Country who is well known throughout all regions. His name is Lord Kurodayu."

"I see," stated Kakashi Sensei. Boy was I excited now. They must've heard how awesome I was in the Land of waves and decided to hire the team because I was on it. I felt the familiar feeling of giddiness building up in my stomach.

"Well what're we waiting for; let's go!" I cheered trying to get out the door. Kakashi Sensei stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't you want to hear the rest Naruto?" he asked in a tone that indicated I should probably stick around. I stopped and turned back to Gramps Hokage; my eyes trying to tell him to speed things up. His face had become serious all of a sudden.

"Your sensei's right Naruto," he stated. "For this time the mission comes with a warning. It could very well become an A-rank possibly S-rank level mission in which case I'd be sending higher levels of ninja instead. However, since Lord Kurodayu is a financial backer for a portion of the Leaf's business trades, I've considered his request carefully; allowing you to go only if you're over-watched by an ANBU team as back up." Kakashi stepped forth with some concern on his features. I wondered what could be so dangerous about a simple escort mission. It wasn't like we were leaving the country.

"What's so dangerous about this mission?" Sakura asked before Sensei could. Gramps Hokage folded his hands over top of one another as he stared at us. I'd been let go by Kakashi Sensei and was now turned full front.

"Simply put…" he started. "Lord Kurodayu has known for some time that he's been a target and it's been rumored that the group targeting him has returned to the Land of Fire. Rumor also has it they've been spotted nearby the route of the convoy and it's quite possible they're planning something."

"What group?" Sasuke asked. Gramps looked at us with a serious face then up to Kakashi Sensei.

"The Fox Troop!" he spoke bluntly. I noticed that Kakashi Sensei's eye widened at this.

"Huh…what the heck's a fox troop?" I wondered. "Why're they dangerous?"

"They're known throughout the five great nations and are notorious," Kakashi Sensei answered. "No one knows where they came from or which village they used to belong to plus it's hard to tell since they have techniques gathered from all over and even possess unknown talents from someplace we haven't been able to identify." He took a pause looking up at the ceiling in thought.

"They're considered as S-ranked criminals although they have yet to show their true strength in a recordable battle and nobody's seen their real faces. In total there are four members and they each go by codenames. There's Rogue One and Rogue Two assumed to be twins. Then there's Dust Devil; Razor and lastly – their leader – the Golden Red! All together they make up the Fox Troop!" I hummed to myself in thought.

"Okay so…what's with the name the Fox Troop?" I wondered. He glanced down at me.

"Rumor has it that they all possess shape shifting abilities without using jutsu and can transform their bodies into the bodies of foxes. But what makes them most recognized in these forms is that they have three tails rather than one."

"Indeed," Gramps agreed. "And it's been said that they're not even human; that they're originally demon foxes that come from the Demon's Berth Mountains a place rumored to house demons of all kinds. However, that's never been proven and so it's just a legend; a myth until proven otherwise. Either way; the most superstitious stay away from that place and those foolish enough to enter usually come back broken in some way or not all." He glanced over us all with his serious gaze.

"Now, I understand if you don't want to take this mission seeing as how your last C-ranked mission turned A-rank unexpectedly and caused problems but if you do take this mission then I must caution you. If the Fox Troop becomes involved, you three and Kakashi are to leave their engagement to the ANBU back up forces and protect the convoy instead. Don't give them any reason to engage you." He then straightened and grinned at us. "Now…will you accept or…"

"What're you talking about gramps; of course we accept!" I bellowed confidently. I heard Sasuke 'tsk' beside me with annoyance.

"I can speak for myself loser," he stated annoyed but then grinned. "As it stands…I'm not backing down!" I looked over to Sakura who looked somewhat nervous.

"Sakura?" I called. She looked up at us with a blank unreadable expression before smiling.

"Let's go for it!" she said. Kakashi nodded then turned to Gramps Hokage.

"Looks like we're in," he said. "When do we leave?" Gramps grinned back.

"Immediately," he replied.

* * *

 ** _Present Time_**

 ** _After Rendezvous_**

"Gah, this mission sucks!" I shouted aloud, voicing my opinion of our situation. Not only had I been rudely awakened this morning before we'd set out to the meeting place but when we took up our C-ranked mission; I didn't know we'd be escorting a snobby rich man with no respect for anyone other than himself! Once we'd arrived, he'd wasted no time in showing how 'superior' he was to a bunch of kids and he'd ticked me off right away and even though Sasuke wouldn't admit it openly, I could tell he'd been offended too.

Then there'd been the way he'd treated Sakura like a queen and I just don't get it. Apparently he has a thing for pink hair and that irked me something awful while Sakura I could tell wasn't too comfortable with it either but still acted polite to keep the peace with the man who was our client. Of course once I'd voiced my opinion Sasuke just scoffed, which got me annoyed and Sakura had given me an annoyed look of her own. Meanwhile, Kakashi sensei had just sighed.

"Naruto, you should consider it an honor to be able to escort such a high ranking man as Lord Kurodayu," Sakura scolded me still trying to keep the peace. I huffed, wondering how she was able to keep a level head about when this guy was such a nuisance.

"Humph, she's right you know," Kurodayu scoffed from within his chariot. "You should feel honored in my presence but I guess all you can focus on is being jealous." My right eye twitched angrily.

"Jealous!" I shouted. "Why the hell would I be jealous of someone like you!?"

"Why it's simple my dear peasant; because you cannot hope to ever achieve such success in life like I have and the sooner you come to terms with that fact, the better off you'll be. Remember I'm expecting you to guard me with your life so if you admit you're jealous of me it'll be easier to do your job you see?" I could feel my temper rising.

"That doesn't make sense at all!" I retorted angrily. Kakashi sensei then cleared his throat.

"Ahem, regardless Naruto, you have a mission to complete here and the less time you spend arguing with the young lord then the quicker it's done and you can go home. Now please, if you can, try some restraint on that temper of yours." He gave me an apologetic eye smile as he glanced over his shoulder and I knew that he was right but the more stubborn part of me was telling me that I shouldn't leave it hanging. Arguing against my feelings for certain situations always proved difficult but eventually I just settled for just crossing my arms in front of my chest and going "Humph!"

I could tell Kakashi sensei was somewhat wishing we could be done with the mission as fast as possible not just because of the "young lord's" antics but because I was probably getting on his nerves some. I just remained quiet after that so we could get this over with faster and continued walking.

We continued walking for what seemed like hours. The sun was just reaching its peak in the sky, indicating that it was almost noon. I was wondering if we would get to have a lunch break when it hit me. From out of the blue I felt my stomach tighten and heat up some and my head started hurting as the feeling shot through my body.

"Huhn!" I slightly yelped in pain and my arms instinctively wrapped around my midsection and clutched my sides in a hug like position. Sasuke, who'd been walking beside me on the opposite side of the convoy, glanced up at me as I stopped walking. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Hm what's your problem?" he asked dryly keeping every ounce of emotion out of his voice as usual. I didn't look up at him; I continued looking down at the ground trying to figure things out.

"I…" I started but then just as soon as it'd come, the pain ebbed away until it was gone leaving nothing but the memory behind. Surprised, I stood up straight again and moved my midsection around, twisting and turning and stretching out my spine. I glanced over at Sasuke who'd stopped walking to observe me and I turned towards the front again embarrassed.

"Humph, it's none of your business," I shot back. Sasuke scoffed at me and turned to the front again too and as we both started walking again he said,

"Whatever." I felt some slight pleasure knowing I'd ticked him off some but I couldn't help but continue wondering to myself about what'd happened a few seconds ago.

 _What was that?_ I wondered. _Was it gas from breakfast? No, I doubt that would cause my head to throb. But…then could it just be something I ate today or…_

"Naruto, pick up the pace!" I heard Kakashi sensei call from up ahead breaking me from my thoughts. When I looked up I noticed I'd begun to lag behind some. I hurried to catch up.

"Right, sorry!" I apologized and ultimately decided to question the weird phenomenon later. As I took up my post again I heard the lord snort up ahead.

"My, a little bit distracted are we?" he asked almost mockingly. "How about you focus more on my glorious light up here and less on your stomach okay brat?" I could feel myself close to boiling over but both Kakashi sensei and Sakura shot me a glare that said, 'Control yourself or you're in trouble'. I sighed.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the problem oh great lord," I spat more than said through gritted teeth. The fat happy merchant lord wasn't paying attention to the malice in my voice.

"Good, good. Now you seem to be getting it," he replied snootily whilst fanning himself with a fan in his hand. It took all of my will power to just keep moving and not run up and attack him. I was all too eager to get this mission over with.

We continued on a little ways more, the sun blinding me every two seconds it came out from behind the leaves. I looked around trying to avoid that and to keep myself occupied when I noticed some strange movement from the trees. I stopped, curiosity peaked. I kept looking into the trees to see if I could see it again and finally decided it was just some sort of creature. However as I started walking, my stomach flared up again, this time worse than the last time and my head started pounding like crazy.

I staggered and clutched my sides again as the heat from my stomach started pulsating. I looked up to see no one had noticed and decided to push forward, straightening up some and holding only one arm around my midsection now while gritting my teeth in pain. I could feel myself starting to sweat profusely. Then just as suddenly as it'd come, once again it disappeared completely leaving behind some residual pain. I breathed heavily and continued walking trying to figure out what the heck was wrong.

 _Okay, that was really weird,_ I thought to myself. _What the heck is happening today, this time it felt like my entire body was on fire and it was as though I couldn't even breathe. I mean seriously, that's not normal. Is…is something happening to me?_

"Hey loser, you're lagging behind again," drawled Sasuke. I glanced up to see him walking ahead of me and I got angry as I stormed back to my position.

"Yeah, whatever!" I shot back and stuck my nose up in the air. I gripped the straps of my backpack tightly and kept moving forward as Sasuke just scoffed and turned around front again. However, now I was having a hard time staying focused souly on walking and keeping an eye out for possible enemy attacks. I was beginning to feel really uneasy about myself. Then I felt something else, almost like…chakra? But that was impossible because…I wasn't a sensory type of ninja. At least…I didn't think I was.

I began looking about through the trees again. This time, my senses felt somewhat heightened and I could definitely sense someone's chakra and the weird thing was…it felt close and similar to mine. Now I was really starting to feel uneasy. Unbeknownst to me though, Sasuke seemed to pick up on my odd behavior.

"What's going on with you today?" he asked curiously though without any emotion in his tone as usual. I hadn't paid too much attention to him though as thoughts were rushing wildly through my head.

"Hey loser, I'm talking to you!" he called again, this time catching my attention.

"Huh?" I asked confused and turned towards a slightly bemused Sasuke. A scowl crossed my face.

"What do you want Sasuke?" I grumbled. Sasuke turned away arrogantly.

"Humph nothing really. You're just acting more stupid than usual. I have to make sure you're not going to get in the way of the mission is all." He shoved his hands into his pockets and kept walking, leaving me angrier than when I'd been the last time. I took up a pose shaking a threatening fist at him.

"Me in the way of the mission!" I yelled back. "Yeah right, like you…" but before I could finish the sentence the next pulse hit out of the blue taking with it, my breath, my ability to stand and my ability to speak. My entire body felt like it was engulfed in flames and my stomach was feeling worse out of all the rest. I fell on my side holding my internally flaming body in pain, sounds of pain barely escaping my throat and through my lips.

"Naruto!" I heard Sasuke shout my name in surprise but I could barely hear him as my head was rushing with heat and pounding non-stop.

"Kakashi!" he shouted up ahead. This wave of pain lasted much longer than the last two and I was barely able to keep a grip on my consciousness. I thought I heard the convoy stop and some feet running towards me but then a stronger wave came and I believe that I let out a strangled scream. Then all else was blocked out as I heard a terrifying voice I'd never heard before from within my own head.

 ** _"_** ** _Out! I want out! Let me be whole again! Boy…let me out!"_** It roared and then afterwards, everything, the pain, the voice, the burning…just vanished without a trace, leaving me completely drained and breathing heavily. Slowly, my surroundings began to become clear to me and I could hear the voices of Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and some of the Lord's convoy's kinder servants, talking rapidly and frantically.

"Naruto; Naruto hey! Wake up Naruto!" I heard Kakashi speak to me in an almost frantic manner.

"Tch, he probably ate something bad without thinking again and got sick...but then again he could also be experiencing chakra exhaustion of some kind. Either one is possible," Sasuke huffed. Despite the emotionlessness in his voice, I couldn't help but feel he was trying to convince himself that that was what it was and that I was probably alright. I don't know why I would think that, I just did. Then there was Sakura.

"Naruto, c'mon you stupid idiot, get up already! What's going on with you today? Naruto, if this is a joke it isn't funny!" She sounded on the edge of hysteria and a part of me was touched but most of all, I was just…confused. With everything happening to me and around me, I couldn't piece together anything logical.

"What…what happened…to the fire," I finally got out. "Why'd it…attack me?" I could now see clearer and there were some residual tears from the previous pain on the rims of my eyes. I could see Kakashi sensei right beside me, kneeling down. I looked up slightly to see him looking down at me with a questioning gaze.

"What do you mean by fire Naruto?" he asked. "There's no fire around. Are you feeling alright?" I decided I would try sitting up but as I tried to move my arms, I could barely feel them, almost as if I'd gotten electrocuted. However, I managed to get into a position where I could try pushing myself up, but as I did so I collapsed almost instantly again and began panting heavily, exhaustion clear in my voice. I felt a hand on my shoulder and groggily looked up at my sensei's face.

"Hey now, take it easy. If Sasuke's right and this is chakra exhaustion, you'll only wear yourself out." I let out a sigh as I relaxed my muscles once again. However, my mind hooked on one word.

 _Chakra,_ I thought. _He said chakra. I think…I think that's what was burning me but…why…why would my own chakra burn me?_ My eyes suddenly widened as I thought more.

 _Wait then…could it have been…could it have been '_ _ **his** ' __chakra…the chakra of the nine tails? If so…why now? Does this mean he's gonna try and escape? That's a scary thought. But…I need to tell Kakashi sensei. He should know what's going on…right? But I can't let Sakura or Sasuke know. It's my secret._

"The fire…" I started to say again weakly. "It…it came from inside of me…from my belly and it really hurt. It was like…chakra running through me but…this time it was different…almost like it was…red chakra…that's how I see it…I always think of my chakra being blue but…this stuff was red and it burned." As I explained, I watched as Sasuke's and Sakura's facial expressions bore questioning looks as did the other servants surrounding me, but Kakashi's face had turned to one of controlled shock and some horror. I suppose that's usually the general reaction when you hear the nine tails could be breaking out and I really hoped that that wasn't the case. If anything, sensei's look made me more worried. However, before the others could notice, he erased his look and replaced it with kind understanding.

"I think I understand what you're saying Naruto," he spoke softly. "If that's the case then…" he stood up and turned an apologetic eye smile on the lord of the convoy.

"My lord, would you mind if I take my student here to the side? He seems to be having a problem with his chakra network and I need to fix it in order for him to give you the best possible protection. It won't be but a moment." The lord, I could hear him shift in his cozy chair, mulled it over.

"Hm, well then…why couldn't you just do it here?" he retorted impatiently.

"Well you see, it's a special case that requires he strips down and I don't believe that his lordship would want to see something like a half nude twelve year old in his presence now would he?" The lord seemed to mull over this for a second then let out a heavy sigh.

"Absolutely not. Very well, fix him but be quick about it. I want to be in the next village by nightfall at the latest and I don't like being kept waiting." Kakashi leaned down and hefted my limp body over his shoulder.

"Understood, Lord Kurodayu. I promise to be swift." He then turned to Sasuke and Sakura. "Sasuke, Sakura; guard the young lord while we're away won't you. Hopefully, this won't take long." And with that I was shunshined away on his back, barely able to move for myself or even feel anything towards embarrassment or anger for the stripping down naked quip. Soon I found myself being laid against a tree that was a fair distance from the others and Kakashi sensei was lifting up my shirt.

"Naruto," he started sternly. "How much do you know…about what lies within you?" he questioned. I sighed taking up some energy so I could speak.

"I…only know that the nine tails is inside of me…like what Mizuki sensei told me that one time… and I also know from the old man…that I'm not supposed to talk about it to anybody because he lectured me after my graduation," I stated. Kakashi nodded his head.

"And do you think that this other chakra, the nine tail's chakra is trying to get out?" I nodded tiredly. Kakashi's face remained troubled as he stared at my belly button. I looked down at what he was examining and saw a weird mark on my belly. My eyes widened with surprise.

"Sensei…what is that…on my stomach?" I wondered. He gave me an incredulous look.

"You mean you haven't noticed before?" he questioned. I shook my head and he sighed. "It's the seal that keeps the nine tails inside of you and right now… it's reacting in a way I've never seen before." I gulped.

"Is…is that bad…sensei?" I asked shakily. He nodded his head gravely then shook it.

"Honestly I can't really say," he said. "It could mean that the seal is breaking but it could also mean it's been tampered with." He then held me in a serious gaze.

"Naruto…do you remember our mission to the land of waves not too long ago?" I nodded. "Well, do you remember when the seal loosened then too…on the bridge?" My eyes widened.

"It did? When?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you didn't notice?" he questioned. I shook my head again.

"Well, during our fight on the bridge, I remember sensing that the nine tail's chakra had begun leaking out of you but I was off fighting with Zabuza and you and Sasuke were still within that boy, Haku's ice mirror jutsu. Now, can you remember anything that might've happened to cause the nine tail's chakra to leak out of you like that?" I tried to think, recalling the memories of our first C ranked mission turned A ranked before it had barely gotten started. Suddenly I remembered something.

"Well…now that you mention it…I do remember blacking out some because I was angry when I thought Sasuke had died. Then I felt this big upsurge in power. Maybe that's how I broke the mirrors, because of the nine tails." I looked down at the mark on my belly. Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah, I'll bet that's what caused it…an increase in temper. Your own anger must've acted as a trigger." He looked at me with a serious look and I pouted.

"Sensei, just because I don't get along with fatso over there doesn't mean that's the reason. I mean…I've also been getting the feeling that we're being followed by someone ya know, but…I can't be sure." Kakashi's eyes widened.

Being followed?" he questioned. "How can you tell?" I shrugged weakly.

"I dunno…I think…I can sense their chakra some but…I've never sensed another chakra like that before. The only reason why I know it's chakra is because it feels similar to mine but…it's not inside of me so I also know it can't be mine." Kakashi didn't seem to know how to respond and I think he was about to say something else but then all of a sudden, we both heard the splintering of wood and screams. Kakashi turned back to the clearing, eyes wide then stern.

"Damn it!" he cursed. Then he dropped my shirt and it fell back where it belonged. Afterwards, he grabbed me and hefted me over his shoulder again.

"Hey!" I protested. "What's goin on?!" Unfortunately for me however, he wasn't going to answer as we sped back towards the convoy.

When we arrived, the main wagon where the fat merchant had been sitting had been evacuated, the horses had run off and all of the people were on the opposite side of the now immobile convoy. I could see Sasuke and Sakura already guarding the fatso and some of his servants as we arrived. As we got there, Kakashi set me down behind them slightly so I was sitting. He turned to me.

"Naruto, will you be able to fight if you have to?" he questioned. I turned to him and grinned.

"You bet!" I said cheerily. However, I wasn't so naïve to believe that I was telling the truth as my body still felt like a noodle. Kakashi gave me a nod before turning towards the overturned convoy.

"Alright, but just to be sure…Sasuke or Sakura, one of you give Naruto a food pill now!" They nodded and I should've guessed that Sakura would be the one who got one for me as Sasuke just stood there staring at the top of the noble's wagon.

"Who are you?" questioned Kakashi sensei and it was then that I turned to see the wagon had someone in a cloak standing on top of it.

The cloak was blank; a deep maroon colour and there was a brooch with an emblem on it I didn't recognize. Meanwhile, I noticed that whoever it was also wore a mask over their face. It kind of…looked like a fox.

"That emblem of yours looks familiar," Kakashi continued. "You're from the Fox Troop aren't you?" he accused and my eyes widened.

"What…the Fox Troop!" I exclaimed.

"Hn, so we did run into them," Sasuke commented.

"But what about the ANBU backup squad? Shouldn't they be here?" Sakura wondered quietly.

"Hm; oh them," the figure spoke in a bored manner; her voice carrying an accent. By the sound of her voice and the height; she was a young woman. "They've already been dealt with by our other members!"

"W-what?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Not even they were a match for…" Kakashi began. I gulped as I thought of the strong ANBU falling so easily to these guys.

"Oh don't worry, we didn't kill them," she said. "We just put them out of commission for a while. What we really want is right here anyways." She tapped her foot on the roof of the carriage she was standing on.

"You…you stay away from my treasure you filthy demon!" Lord Kurodayu shouted out to her although he remained behind us. She turned to him lazily yet sharply, her eyes piercing him from behind the mask. He flinched back behind Sasuke who looked annoyed with him but then again; he's annoyed with everybody most of the time.

"How rude!" she snapped. A kunai went whistling past his face and embedded itself in a tree behind us so fast I almost missed it. He trembled as he brought his fingers up to his face and wiped away some blood that'd appeared as she'd managed to cut his cheek.

"For your information," she continued. "I bathe regularly; thank ya kindly!" She sounded like she woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Kurodayu turned to us.

"Oi; ninjas! Now's where you protect me from these monsters! Hurry it up will ya!?" he demanded. I glared at him but nevertheless began to stand up as the food pill had restored some of my strength already. I was still a bit shaky but that would have to do and hopefully the nine tails wouldn't keep trying to break free. I heard Sakura shift beside me.

"So wait," she began. "Are you…are you the team leader then; The Golden Red?" she asked. The figure didn't answer right away other than turning towards Sakura and staring at her for a short time that seemed to drag on forever. Then the woman broke out into a fit of laughter that confused us. She lifted a hand to wipe a fake tear from one of her eye holes.

"Ha, no I ain't her," she stated then sighed.

"But I am!" spoke another voice. Suddenly a black blur cut through the trees, some wind blowing about before settling once she landed atop the carriage beside the first person. When she turned around, it was clear she was the leader but that wasn't what had me on edge. It was the fact that the chakra I'd sensed before that'd felt like my own…was coming from her; the Golden Red.

* * *

 ** _Aurora_**

I had watched the scene from afar and quite honestly, I loved that they already knew about us. When Cocoa had been asked if she was the Golden Red, I'd had to hold back a snicker at the implication. It didn't take me too long to make my entrance.

"But I am!" I stated from my position in the trees before leaping down to land next to Cocoa. Then I'd turned around. They couldn't tell because of the mask but underneath that and the genjutsu that made us appear older than we really were, I was grinning like a mad woman. I suppose it was mostly because I hadn't seen any action in a long time but then there'd been that funny feeling in my gut earlier.

Kurama the nine tailed fox inside of me was acting up, getting excited as he sensed some of his fragmented power. I'd known from him telling me that I was not his only Jinchuriki; that there were two others but one was dead and the other was elsewhere. I'd had to let him out of his cage to let him observe us because he wouldn't settle down. I could tell that the boy with spiky blonde hair was the Jinchuriki as he'd been suffering from the effects of the enraged and excited energy Kurama was putting forth as he bashed his head against the seal.

Oh don't worry, he's not at full size; he's actually average fox size right now; the only difference is that he has nine tails while we all have three because of our ages.

As for control over his power; I can't say that I'm exactly the best of friends with him; I mean he has some real anger issues to settle although being around the fox tribe in the Demon's Berth prior to our escape of war had sort of made the part of him within me tamer than his other pieces. However, he could still sense himself and was therefore still connected no matter how many pieces he was in or who he was with. But nobody could accuse me of not trying.

After our first initial meeting had gone down in disaster; I had tried again when I was a little older and he'd tried to kill me again. However, by this point, he wasn't the only angry demon fox to snip at me so I'd held my ground. I'd gone ahead trying to strike up a simple conversation with him but he barely acknowledged my existence until I asked for his name. That'd instigated a whole new slew of problems and he soon learned I could be just as stubborn as him. After what felt like forever of hounding him and being the annoying brat I am proud to be, he finally slipped up in telling me his name when he'd let his anger get to be too much and his guard dropped. It wasn't long before I was telling my siblings what I'd discovered while ignoring his rantings and angered potty words.

From there I tried time and time again; entering my own mindscape to talk but rarely got any response. However, as time progressed, we slowly began to have a sort of 'frenemy' relationship going on. He wanted us to be enemies; I was too stubborn and wanted us to be friends. Despite our status, we'd earned one another's trust in our own ways which was how I'd learned how to unleash him from the seal binding him and while there was always the fact he was still bound to me, there was also the fact that I could now let him out and roam around with different sized bodies he could control. He's even helped us out on a heist or two but other than that; our status is of mutual respect for one another. So when he'd sensed part of him in the blonde haired boy; I'd had to let him out so he would stop head butting the seal. I swear despite his age he acts like a child sometimes.

Anyways; got a little sidetracked there (sorry). Now back to our present predicament. I was staring down at the blonde haired kid and the rest of his team. The rest of the ninjas aka the ANBU backup shinobi had been put to sleep by use of sleep fire – the indigo fox fire magic that induces sleepiness.

The silver haired jonin whom I recognized as Kakashi of the Sharingan from the bingo books of other nations stepped forward in front of his students.

"So…are you here for the treasure or for the nobleman himself?" he questioned. I turned to him then smirked – though he couldn't see it – under my mask.

"Something like that," I replied.

"We're actually here for a few reasons," Cocoa stated sitting down casually on the carriage. "For starters; yes we're after the treasure and we're after the nobleman." We both watched in amusement as they strengthened their stances in front of the man and his followers. I could imagine the smirk Cocoa had under her mask.

"Tch; what's this?" she questioned teasingly. "You're not even gonna ask why we was sent afta dis chump? C'mon; you don't even know who you're workin' for!"

"That's not relevant," stated the one with black hair sticking out of the back of his head like a…like a…hmm…

"We were hired for this mission so it doesn't matter if we know him on a personal level or not!" Cocoa kicked her feet over the edge.

"Oh…is that so?" she pressed. "Well then…maybe you'd like to know that when he hired you; he lied about his position as a simple nobleman. There's more than meets the eye and if we let you complete this mission then that'd be a crime! Of course; only with the progression of time will you be able to determine that yourselves."

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded the rosette, though I paid little attention. Cocoa glanced up at me.

"You wanna take that one?" she questioned. I didn't answer for a while; drawing out the silence. I imagined that her eye was twitching in annoyance at me. I hummed in thought then…

"Aha!" I declared raising my index finger to indicate I'd had an epiphany. Then I pointed it at the dark haired boy.

"Duck butt!" I finished. Everyone froze and I saw that the boy's eye twitched ever so slightly in annoyance. All was quiet.

"What…did you call me?" he gritted out. I folded my arms sagely then raised my right index finger to indicate I was a genius.

"Your hair spikes out of the back of your head like a duck's butt and since that's the case; from here on out, you shall be henceforth known to me as Duck Butt! That's your new nickname!" I watched as everybody – especially Cocoa – deadpanned. I noticed the boy was shaking with anger.

"Are you trying to make fun of me!?" he demanded.

"You take that back about Sasuke right now!" the rosette demanded. I rolled my eyes though they couldn't see it. I noticed that the blonde was trying to contain fits of giggles and raucous laughter. They came out as snickers instead.

"Duck Butt eh?" spoke a new yet familiar voice.

"That's about accurate when you think of it," stated the other voice beside it. Everyone turned to the two new voices. I glanced up to see that Rutt and Tutt were here and they were hanging upside down sporting mock positions of intelligence - their fingers cupping their chins - as they agreed with the new name.

"Ducky; where?" exclaimed an excited Dusty from the opposite side of the road. She looked about for a duck that wasn't really there. She wasn't even trying to be mocking since she was actually expecting a duck. Ladies and gentlemen; ninjas of all ages…our little sister Dusty who is sometimes a little too spacy and hyper for her own good. Now the boy with blonde hair was on the verge of losing it. Cocoa just sighed.

"Don't take it personal champ! She does this to everyone she meets. If the nickname's not embarrassing or holds some deep meaning or connection then it doesn't count in her agenda. Trust me; you don't wanna know the worst one." She stated. The one referred to as Sasuke by the rosette seemed to relax some of his anger but was still on guard against us. I just shrugged nonchalantly.

"She's right," I said then sniggered. "You should've been there when I nicknamed my first master! Now that was hilarious!" I continued with a boisterous laugh as I thought back on that day; the day I first took to nicknaming anyone. The incident that'd led to the name itself was one neither one of us would ever forget. I finally sighed, wiping a fake tear from my eyehole.

"Whoo; now back to business," I said. The ninjas tensed up a bit. I grinned.

"Ya know; I forgot to mention one of the other reasons we're here," I stated. The copy ninja cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh…and what would that be?" I simply grinned at his question. Then I let out another fit of laughter though it was more controlled.

"Why; I heard all about your team's success in the Land of Waves recently and I wanted to thank you personally for freeing those people from Gato's reign for us. We would've done it but…we were busy with one of his business partners who was stationed in the Earth Country." The blonde looked up shocked and blinked.

"Ya mean…you were going to go after Gato?" he asked incredulously. I smirked under my mask.

"Of course; like my dear sister outlined for you; letting the man you're protecting through would be a crime. He and Gato were business partners too ya know!"

"Wha…what?" the boy asked again. The rosette turned towards Kurodayu; the lord they were protecting with disbelief.

"Lies!" the lord bellowed. "All of it is lies! I've never been involved with that wretched man! Why else would I hire the ninjas who brought about his downfall?" I smirked again.

"Oh I don't know," I said, "And frankly none of us cares much for your reasoning. The fact of the matter is…the fourth reason why we're here is…" I glanced up, catching them all within my gaze. "Our old friends Zabuza and Haku ended up battling them and we would like to experience firsthand what these genin leaf ninja are made of!"

"So that's why you only took care of the ANBU!" Kakashi concluded. "You want to test my students!" I grinned at him; the excitement reaching my eyes.

"Of course," I exclaimed. "But don't think it's just for them. We need to stay sharp as well. So let's get started shall we?" Suddenly all of the ninjas on the ground tensed up and got ready for battle.

"Get ready guys!" the copy ninja commanded his students. "Stay on your toes and stay together!"

"But sensei; I thought we weren't supposed to engage them?" the rosette pointed out uncertainly.

"True," he replied. "But with the Fox Troop involved and us being the only available ninjas; we're going to have to. They've made it so we have no choice and we can't just abandon this mission. We'll guard this convoy with our lives! And don't worry…" he stated. Then he turned to his students.

"Just like last time; I won't let you die!" he declared.

"Aw…how touching," squealed Dusty. She usually gets over emotional over these kinds of things. Cocoa stood up getting ready to start the fight. I could tell she was itching to go. I could barely contain my own excitement as my siblings readied themselves around me. I took in a breath and chuckled.

"Well…I already know who I wanna test my skills with. You guys have fun choosing amongst yourselves," I stated. I simply stayed put; silently giving them permission to get started.

"Really?" asked an excited Tutt.

"Then we choose…" Rutt tried.

"Dibs on Uchiha!" cried Cocoa and she was off, kunai raised and advancing on the now known to me; Duck Butt. He blocked quickly with his own kunai and then they pushed off from one another hopping off someplace else as the two fought. Meanwhile, Rutt and Tutt groaned with disappointment.

"Aw c'mon," grumbled Rutt.

"No fair," Tutt whined. Dusty advanced calling out her choice next.

"I want the pink one!" she called. She and the rosette entered combat while the grumbling twins just decided to attack the copy ninja. Good luck Mr. Scarecrow…hah; good one Aurora! I glanced down at the blonde boy and grinned under my mask.

"You and me blondie; let's do it!" I declared rushing into battle. He smirked and huffed as he approached me as well.

"Being chosen by the Golden Red; I'm honored!" he mocked. I continued grinning.

"You should be," I replied. "After all…you and your little fox friend have caught my attention."

It took a moment for my words to register and sink into his head before he got it. When he did; his cerulean blue eyes which were very much like my own though he didn't know, widened with complete and utter shock.


	3. Enter: The Golden Red Part II

**_Sakura_**

She was…way too fast! I simply couldn't keep up with her, my opponent. She was here, then there and she was cutting me to ribbons with her tails which had suddenly appeared from her backside. The worst part of it was the fact that she seemed to be having way too much fun and I'd already determined she must mentally be a child despite her age; not to mention had more energy than Naruto.

I had to think of a plan and fast otherwise I'd be minced meat. Of course; if this woman of the Fox Troop and her team had been close with Zabuza and Haku…then I can only imagine how terrifying the others were especially the leader. I'd give them this though; they sure did act the part of foxes being sly one minute and jokesters the next. But then they'd beaten ANBU agents effortlessly without even having to fight them. Was I really a match for any one of them? I guess I could consider myself lucky I didn't get stuck with the twins.

Speaking of which; my opponent had isolated us to one part of the forest. I couldn't see where the others were at the moment but I could hear their struggles in the distance. I would need to focus and carefully consider a plan to hopefully outwit her.

Another whoosh of wind and I winced at the power behind it along with the new cut that'd appeared on my thigh. It wasn't deep but it still stung. I forced the pain to the back of mind as I began to look about for anything that could give me a clue on how to beat her. If I couldn't see or catch up with her then I could at least stop her from running. I'd need to use the forest surrounding me to do that. But how?

Another whoosh and another cut plus another annoying giggle. I turned about looking desperately for anything that could give me a clue and therefore an edge when finally…I saw it. I blinked once to make sure I was really seeing it. A small silky spider web sat between two thin branches on a nearby tree. The spider was up in the corner minding its own business and then all of a sudden a fast flying fly flew right into the web. The web itself held fast catching the little fly up and I watched as the spider pounced; rolling up its meal. I nodded to myself in confirmation. That would work.

I looked around and noticed the perfect clearing to set it up in. However, when I tried to move she was there again; rushing by like the wind and cutting me once more. I winced at the pain and held the new cut on my upper arm. Then suddenly she stopped; standing just a bit of ways away watching me with a cocked head to the right.

"So…you're not much a fighter are ya!" she stated. I bristled taking some offense.

"Oh yeah and what makes you say that?" I demanded to know.

"Well… I've been going at this for at least five minutes now and you haven't even made a move."

"You're way too fast!" I retorted expressively. She just shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah but that's because I'm a demon. No one I know besides the boss can match my speed and even she struggles with that." She paused in thought. "But then again; aren't ninjas supposed to be fast too? Yet you can barely even try to keep up and you're lacking in the physical strength area too. Wait do you diet?" she asked suddenly almost sounding horrified at the thought.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" I roared at her offended. She just leaned back and shook her head.

"You probably do don't you? You know that's not healthy for a ninja. Girls who just wanna be pretty for cute boys are really bad at being ninjas. They just can't do anything right and wind up being utterly useless in a fight!" That was the last straw. I pointed accusingly at my opponent.

"Just shut-up! What the hell do you know anyway? I can be pretty if I want; it's not a crime ya know? And another thing; what right do you have to say that I can't diet. I don't like over eating so that's why I do it okay!? I don't need you tellin' me what's good for me and what's not; I already have a mother thank you very much!" She cocked her head then turned some to the side.

"Hey did you know that dieting like that can lead to small breasts in the future; true story!" she said. I froze uncertain of where all of this was heading.

"Yeah apparently when women eat less their breasts just start shrinking while if they eat properly then they grow. At the rate you're going you're probably gonna be small forever." It took me some time as the general conversation during a battle was somewhat confusing. Then it sunk in.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FLAT!?" I screamed. Then I charged, throwing kunais and shuriken in an angered haze. She didn't even start moving fast again, just backed up and dodged while trying to calm me down it would seem.

"Wait…" she ducked.

"I wasn't trying to offend you…" I threw another round which she dodged.

"…I was trying to warn you! But…I can see…that you're offended…anyway…" she tried to explain herself but I wasn't listening. I was aiming my attacks and she was dodging them.

"Can't we just…work out our differences?" she practically whined. "I don't really like fighting; my brothers do though…oh and so do my sisters. Hey I know!" she spoke suddenly dodging me and turning around. However, her tails turned with her and I ended up tripping over them. When I came up from my improvised roll onto my knees, I was panting and glaring at her. She turned around again and despite the mask I could tell she was smiling underneath.

"Let's play a game!" she declared. Once again I was uncertain of what to do. This girl was just…weird.

"Huh?" I furrowed my brows. "A game?" She nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah; any game! We could play tag; catch; truth or dare…oh…I know…how about critter says? I love that one!" I blinked trying to banish my confusion. Then I shook my head and glared at her.

"No way! We're not kids we're ninjas! I don't 'play' anymore!" I heard her whine…almost like how a dog does it.

"But…how am I supposed to get to know you better unless we play together? I don't like fighting much because it can hurt so I try to avoid it as much as possible. So I'd rather play instead!" Was she serious? No; this had to be a trick…but what if it's not? She did sound sincere enough but it could also be good acting. As far as I'm concerned though, she could already be toying with me in her game. Wait…maybe I can use this to my advantage. I finally stood seeming to have thought it over.

"Oh I dunno," I said warily. "My sensei would probably get mad at me if I didn't do my duty as a ninja," I said.

"I won't tell him; I promise!" she responded immediately.

"Hm…I guess I could…try one game," I spoke tentatively. I imagined her eyes lit up at this.

"Really!?" she squealed. "Yay! Let's play; let's play; let's play! What game would you like to play?" she asked. I pretended to think of it.

"Um…I kind of liked hide n' go seek as a kid!"

"Great!" she exclaimed. "I'll hide and you count!" She was about rush off.

"W-wait…" I called. She turned to regard me. "Um…I'd like to hide first…i-if ya don't mind?" She seemed to pause for almost too long. I almost thought she was onto me. However, she replied to me with a cheery voice.

"Okay! I'll count to um…uh…fifty and you go hide!" She turned to face a tree trunk. "Oh and just to be fair I won't use my nose to track you."

"Um…thanks!" I said before heading off in the opposite direction somewhat disbelieving this was happening. She had turned back and was counting really loud and I was grateful for it as it would make my next actions quieter. Plus the sounds of the others in conflict were another kind of cover as well.

I made my way to the clearing I'd spotted earlier and got to work. I pulled out some thin yet sturdy wire and wrapped it around a few Kunais which I then threw into the trunks of nearby trees. I did it several more times; creating a makeshift spider web with a main kunai holding the center into the ground. Hopefully she'd be too busy 'playing' to notice and what was more to hope for was that she wasn't just messing with me. It'd be too embarrassing if that was the case.

Once finished I created a decoy which would fool my opponent hopefully and give me an advantage. I hid it somewhere where it would seem it was hiding but in reality it was sticking out just enough to be seen. I then covered it with a camouflage tarp and hid myself using a henge to look like a part of the tree I was on. I couldn't just rely on the fact she'd come from one angle and see the doll. That was child's play.

I also didn't expect my first plan which was to have her run into the web without noticing to work. Relying souly on that plan alone would get me into more trouble with this opponent than I already was. So it was only natural that I'd set up counter measures for a backup plan right after.

I heard the voice of my opponent shouting fifty in the distance and steadied my breathing. Now was not the time to get scared. I had to prove that I could defend myself too. I'd already watched Naruto and Sasuke be total badass ninjas in the Land of Waves; hell we'd even received word they'd named the bridge after the blond knucklehead himself. Ever since then, I'd slowly begun opening my eyes and I was starting to realize something vital and quite terrifying.

Despite all of my book smarts and academy ninja training, I was the weakest link to squad seven. I couldn't continue to be so with my teammates having to guard me every step of the way. I'd become a liability if that were to happen. Then I'd get kicked off the team and never get to hang out with or even get to look at Sasuke again. Meanwhile Ino would move in and get her grubby hands all over him. Then there was Naruto.

Everyone had called him weak and a no good and quite honestly I was no different. Somehow I got the feeling that Kakashi sensei and Sasuke understood him better than I ever could. I'd been so focused on Sasuke having died – although he didn't – on the last mission that I'd never stopped to consider what Naruto had gone through having to watch and then believe he'd let his teammate die. Although the annoying loudmouth was obnoxious and flashy, he still had feelings too and since I was little I'd been ignoring them. Well I'd actually call the ones for me personally justifiable in that sense. I just didn't see him that way. Oh and let's not forget how utterly useless I'd been on that mission either.

I shook my head trying to clear it of the annoying reminders that I wasn't as strong as my teammates. I had to focus on this fight right here and now. There was no room for self-pity on the battlefield. I waited with baited breath for what seemed like ever.

"Ya know…that doll doesn't even look like you," whispered a voice from behind me. My blood ran cold and I had to whirl around to avoid the lunging person about to catch me off guard. I lost my henge and landed on another tree branch across the way. The Dust Devil then stepped up laughing; giggling like a little school girl.

"I found you!" she sing sang. I blinked astonished at how stealthy she'd been. I hadn't even sensed a minor presence.

"How did you…" I tried to ask but to no avail. She giggled.

"Well it wasn't hard," she admitted. "Even without me using my enhanced tracking skills to even it out, I still know how to play hide and seek with a ninja." I nodded, knowing that made sense. Oh well, I hadn't expected plan A to work anyways. On to plan B. I smirked.

"Great; now that you've found me, you still have to chase me," I told her. She cocked her head to the side curiously; an odd gesture for a woman her age. It made her look childish.

"Chase you?" she questioned. I nodded.

"Whenever I played this game as a kid, once we found the hiders then it was time to chase them down and tag them. We called it hide n' seek ninja!" Her posture shifted showing some surprise and excitement.

"Oh really?!" she exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever played it like that before. Alright here I…"

"Wait!" I cut her off. "Don't you think it'd be unfair if you used your full speed?" I questioned. Again she tilted her head.

"Hm, I suppose so," she agreed. "So what…you want me to go slower so it's more fair?" I nodded hoping she couldn't see through this guise and that she really was just that childish.

"Yeah, after all, we want to have fun playing right? It's just as fun to chase as it is to seek." She nodded her head vigorously with excitement. Was she seriously buying this? She got into a ready stance. I guess she was. I got into one of my own to run away; I'd have to make this believable if I didn't want her speeding up again.

"On your mark; get set…go!" I hollered letting out a giggle in spite of myself because of how silly this all sounded. I leapt off of my branch and started using all of the speed I could to out run her but as I looked back I realized that even that was futile. My eyes bugged out of my head.

"What…are you kidding me!?" I hollered. "How the hell are you still so fast?!" I shouted. I imagined her beaming like an idiot under that mask.

"Because I love to run," she replied. I turned back around and began using chakra to start enhancing my speed to hopefully pull ahead. _'Of course she does',_ I thought darkly with a scowl on my inner self's face. I sensed I had to dodge and I was right; getting out of the way fast enough as she lunged from behind to tag me. This was gonna be harder than I thought. However, I couldn't give up. Sakura Haruno isn't going to be the weakling anymore; she's gonna start pulling her own weight so everybody can count on her.

"Wee!" squealed the fox masked ninja as she lunged again. She missed me by a hair and I spun around deciding to head back to where I'd been before towards the trap. Once more I had to dodge; that'd been too close.

Finally I reached the web, dropping down and sliding with the momentum of my running along the ground to the center. I saw her leap into the air laughing.

"This is fun! You've even set a trap," she exclaimed.

"But I'm pretty flexible!" she stated beginning to weave her body through the wires expertly just like a fox or a snake. My slide had brought me to the center where the center kunai was at. I looked up at her shocked then smirked. She tilted her head curiously.

"Yeah it's a trap alright," I told her. "And this is how it works!" I sent a shuriken flying, allowing it to bend and hit where the doll hidden by the camouflage sat. Once it struck the target, I pressed my back flat against the ground and watched as the other kunai came loose, snapping to where her body was weaving through the wires. I imagined her eyes widening as the wires spun around and wrapped her up all pretty like a fly caught in my own trap. Her squeak made me smirk more and I sat up confident that I now had her. She began struggling.

"No fair," she whined. "I didn't know it could do that too!" I continued to smirk as I approached her trapped form hanging upside down.

"Well, all's fair when playing hide n' seek ninja," I stated. "Thanks for playing but it looks like I've won this round. Now to see who you really are." She flinched as I reached for her mask. I lifted it gently from her face and watched amazed as her body flickered and shrunk before my very eyes. What I saw under that mask was jaw dropping. She struggled again.

"Hey, taking my mask off wasn't part of the deal," whined the now twelve year old girl who hung before me. She was more ensnared than she'd been previously since my trap had been made for a bigger person. Dust Devil's light brown hair fell from her head towards the ground and her face looked like a child's younger than her. I blinked once…then twice…a third time before everything clicked and I raised an annoyed accusing finger to point at her.

"You're the same age as me!" I exclaimed. "Just what the hell's goin' on here!?" I demanded. She blinked confused at first then let a foxy grin adorn her face. If it was possible she got cuter when she smiled.

"Oh, ya mean the disguises?" she asked. She giggled as I glared at her. "That's just a game too!"

* * *

 ** _Kakashi_**

This was bad. Not only had the Fox Troop arrived as predicted but they'd managed to take out our backup squad before we knew we needed them. Now we're separated and fighting our own opponent…well opponents in my case.

Rogue one and two were infamously known for their tag team tactics. As the rumors went; they were more powerful together than apart yet were still pretty powerful alone. Perhaps if I used the shadow clone jutsu and evened the score; but then I'd be wasting chakra if they chose the same method to counter. Still not enough is known about them or their team to get an advantage.

What puts me more on edge is the fact that Naruto's seal that holds back the nine tails was acting up earlier and causing him pain. I just hoped the fox had settled down some to enable him to fight properly for he'd been chosen to be dealt with by their leader…the Golden Red.

I'd tried not to get separated but the twins were proving persistent. Whenever I finished defending against one, the other would come in and attack right after giving me no room to maneuver or think up a strategy. They were also laughing their heads off as if this was child's play and they didn't need to worry too much about doing anything major. It was somewhat infuriating but I had to keep my cool.

Currently the twins had me on my toes as they used the surrounding trees to launch off of with incredible strength and speed at different intervals almost like a pinball machine. They were wildly unpredictable but I knew they had to have a weakness somewhere. Exploiting it would be the key.

"Hey bro, remember when we didn't have money for dango that one time and we were confronted by the store owner?" One of them asked. I wondered what they were up to as I dodged a flurry of shuriken and deflected a few with my own kunai.

"Oh yeah, I remember," the other confirmed. I heard the first one snicker some as the second sent some fast kunai at me. I deflected them with my own and leapt to a different tree branch.

"Tell me bro, what did we do when they started chasing us?"

"Uh, I dunno bro, what did we do; I forget cuz I was running too fast!" The other one snickered again as he bounced off the trunk of another tree to cut me. I dodged.

"Well brother, I'd say that we went and got, 'sharin-gone'!" he jibed. Then the two burst into uncontrolled fits of laughter. I dare say they sounded like hyenas.

"See…see what I did there?" asked the first again between his laugh attacks.

"Yeah, yeah, that was gold man; gold!" his brother returned. I furrowed my brows as I realized they'd been making fun of my sharingan. Were they trying to get a rise out of me? If so, they weren't doing a very good job.

"Is that supposed provoke me or are you just that over confident?" I queried while keeping my guard up. The two snickered like little boys playing a prank on someone.

"Neither," the first one said.

"We just like cracking jokes,"

"It makes the battlefield less tense if ya know what we're talking about." The first finished his brother's sentence. The second sniggered.

"It makes it all the more fun this way and it keeps our opponents guessing!" I turned to dodge some more in coming projectiles.

"Admit it," he continued.

"We're too unpredictable for you to track properly. We're the ones who hold the advantage in this fight," the other one continued for the other. I dodged more projectiles and what seemed to be some sort of fire style jutsu.

"We've got the numbers,"

"We've got the superior senses,"

"And…"

"We have the element of surprise!" They ghosted around the area like they were one with the forest and their attacks seemed to cease for the time being.

"Is that so," I started as an idea began to come to me. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to level the playing field!" I declared. I heard them snicker.

"Oh?"

"And how're you gonna do that?" they asked.

"Will you be adding shadow clones to the mix?"

"That's not very original!" I dodged two kunai from different points but knew they'd already moved from those spots. I on the other hand had formed a plan. It was simple really. Using shadow clones would waste chakra and one mind wouldn't be able to foresee some of their attacks if it was thinking along one line. So now I just had to call on an old friend for backup.

I allowed the next projectile that was thrown to hit me. I winced and grunted with the pain and landed on another tree trunk before having to leap off again. I had to get to the ground for this to work. I waited for the opportune moment then went for it. I allowed one of them to slam into me and send me to the ground. As I groaned in pain, I heard them chuckling overhead.

"Wow, you're fading fast old timer," one said. His brother snickered.

"Maybe we should let up some so you don't die," suggested the other. I was finished with my hand seals.

"Actually, you two should learn to pay more attention to your opponent's intentions," I retorted.

" **Summoning Jutsu!** " I called out. There was a large puff of smoke as the chakra I used completed the jutsu. Before me was a group of dogs, each with superior tracking abilities and some with the same type of fighting abilities. I stood up and turned to face the twins.

"You seem to have let your guard down sometime during your little banter there. And I assume that your weakness is lengthened close quarter battles. Otherwise you wouldn't keep hiding from me. Your attacks only benefit you as long as you keep up the element of surprise and you quickly become cocky and overconfident that you're winning when your opponent starts second guessing himself or making mistakes and keeps getting hit more. Now that mistake is going to cost you dearly!" I could sense them shifting about some in the trees and turned to Pakkun.

"What do ya need Kakashi?" he asked. I kept my guard up.

"I'm up against the tag team of the Fox Troop," I told him. "I need your guy's help to pin them down and keep them occupied. Think you can manage?" Pakkun blinked with surprise.

"The Fox Troop?" he questioned. He and the other ninja hounds exchanged looks with one another and seemed to know something I didn't. I furrowed my brows then Pakkun looked back to me with a dog like smirk on his face.

"Not to worry Kakashi, I think we'll be able to help," he said. I nodded then glanced up to the trees above.

"Ha! You think you can beat us with summoning's?" the second one mocked.

"You'll have to do better than that old man!" the first taunted.

"Oh don't worry," I assured them. "I plan too!" I let a smoke pellet hit the ground and explode. In the cover I created a shadow clone and burrowed underground. Meanwhile, my shadow clone kept them busy, dodging all of their attacks while the dogs joined in, managing to find them and chase them out of hiding for brief intervals of time.

I myself managed to hide myself in a tree higher and further away to mask my scent and presence. I used my sharingan and some binoculars to analyze their fighting style. They'd been faster at the beginning but being forced on the run to keep away from the ninja hounds was starting to slow them down to average chunin speed; something I could track.

One, the bigger one seemed to be more of a brawler fighter. Every time Pakkun or Biscuit or someone else found him, he resorted to big heavy movements and not truly thinking those movements through. In fact, it somewhat reminded me of how Naruto started out with his taijutsu since he was a natural brawler himself. In fact, he still needs to work on that.

Meanwhile, the younger one although prone to try and follow his brother's movements was more agile and quick on his feet. He still had strength on his side but was weaker than his brother wanting to follow a more strategic approach and throwing that in whenever he felt it was necessary. I also noticed he tried his best to avoid the bigger dogs more than the smaller ones. Could he have a small fear of dogs?

My shadow clone meanwhile, was finally on its last leg. I stood up and knew it was time to reenter the fray. As I made my way down, I noticed some of the hounds were out of breath too. Finally, when it seemed my clone was about to collapse, they showed themselves laughing through the panting.

"Man I almost thought he had us there with those mutts," the second one chuckled. The first one also chuckled as he spat out some excess saliva and phlegm to the side and wiped his mouth under the mask. I thought I saw something flicker.

"Yeah, you could almost say he was…all bark; no bite!" The two sniggered as they got into ready stances.

"Any last words Mr. Copy Ninja?" the first taunted. My clone panted and stood up straighter not willing to give up but knowing full well where I was.

"Yeah; ya know before ya go to where all dogs go?" snickered the other. My clone panted as he wiped some sweat from his brow.

"How about a quick lesson in ninja combat?" he offered. The two men snickered.

"Oh look brother, the big bad Kakashi Hatake is going to huff and puff and give a lecture!" The first burst into uncontrolled laughter while his brother attempted to hold himself together.

"Yeah, I guess he still thinks he has a shot! Maybe we should hear im out to appease his ghost!" They continued laughing and the first wiped a tear away.

"Alright fine, go ahead this should be a good laugh!" They continued laughing as my clone caught his breath and stood up.

"Alright then," he said. "Lesson number one…" He poofed out of existence catching the twins by surprise while I stood right behind them.

"Never underestimate the enemy," I finished. They'd barely turned around before I'd swept my leg as fast as lightning underneath them and spun around to deliver a kick that sent them flying into the trunk of another tree. They grunted in pain from the attack as I straightened back up.

I couldn't tell because of their masks but I believed they were surprised.

"W-what the hell!?" the first one grunted.

"How'd he get behind us so fast?" questioned the second.

"More importantly…how did we miss the shadow clone?" asked the first. I stepped forward.

"Like I said earlier," I stated. "Your egos are a major weakness. Once you get to a point where it seems impossible to lose, you focus more on making witty comebacks and jokes rather than on your battle and opponent. Because of your inattentiveness, I was not only able to summon my ninja hounds to level the playing field but I was also able to substitute in a single shadow clone while my real self, hid away to watch the fight."

The two stood up again, side by side seemingly over their previous injury. The first one chuckled.

"That was a pretty clever move copy ninja," he taunted. "But let's see how smart a move it was to come back to face us yourself." He then started to convulse slightly and by the end of it, three dark orange tails had appeared behind him while two ears had poked out of his head. I narrowed my eyes as I watched this.

"So it would seem the rumors are true," I stated. "You really are from the Demon's Berth Mountains aren't you?" I questioned.

"You'd better believe it," snarled the second one, joining his brother in their halfway transformation. I quickly popped a soldier pill under my mask and into my mouth and all without revealing my face. I'd need the extra energy.

"Now let's see how well you do against us now!" They bellowed in unison and came charging straight at me. Their speed hadn't picked up again so I had to assume they'd been going full speed from the beginning. I think they wanted to try and frighten me off with their transformation. However, that wouldn't work for I was not that easily phased.

The first one came in like he'd done before, aiming high while the other would follow up by aiming low. I dodged the first punch then the lower kick with ease. That didn't mean that they'd let up though. They continued their combination attacks which were easily dodged by me and seemed to infuriate the oldest.

"Damn it, when'd you get faster?" demanded the first.

"I didn't," I said as I dodged another one from below. The next fist that came at my face I simply blocked and held fast onto it while I leapt up and lashed out with a kick that sent the smaller one flying again before I landed. The first struggled in my grip.

"You just started getting slower," I finished. "Perhaps going all out from the beginning wasn't the best battle tactic." The first one snarled at me and twisted free from my grip.

"I'll show you a battle tactic!" he snapped. Suddenly he was engulfed in flames and I had to leap back to avoid them. He snickered.

"Well old man, how d'ya like my flames? They're not regular as you can probably tell!" I waited to see what he would do with them. He was right. I could see even with my sharingan that they weren't average flames fueled by natural forces or even chakra. The energy they exhibited was far lighter and less condensed than chakra and it put a strain on my sharingan just to try and see it. The bigger one turned to where his brother was just getting back up.

"C'mon bro, activate your flames too," he told him. The smaller one seemed to look uncertain.

"But brother…I haven't yet recovered from the last time," he said. The older one focused back on me.

"Do it anyways or else we won't beat this guy! I can keep him busy more so you don't have to use all of it!" The other still looked uncertain. Even without facial expressions his body expressions were enough to tell me he was starting to realize this might not be so easy. Nevertheless he relented.

"Very well brother," he agreed, activating his flames too. However I noticed his were slightly weaker than his brother's. I could use that to my advantage. With that, they then leapt off the ground and went back to playing ping pong.

 _'_ _I see so rather than use chakra to enhance their abilities; they use their flames in a similar way.'_ I realized. This time despite their enhanced speed, it was easier to keep up with their movements and Pakkun's interference along with the other ninja hounds had them dodging more in midair. I decided to act and take down the weaker of the two.

So, I readied myself and timed it just right. Right after I'd dodged the first brother; I grabbed the second brother surprised that the flames didn't burn like regular ones and then proceeded to spin after getting him in a good hold in the direction of his brother's next attack and threw him.

Just as I'd thought, the older bigger one didn't have enough time to change trajectory so the two brothers collided with one another and fell to the ground. I stood up and watched as they groaned with pain and tried to sit up. The younger one's flames had dispersed but the older ones' were still going. They both started getting up, the smaller one more shakily.

"You alright?" the bigger one asked the smaller with concern. The smaller one panted and I could imagine him giving his brother a pained smile from under that mask.

"Heh, I've been better but I'm not beat yet!" he reassured. I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"Are you sure about that?" I questioned. "You sound more tired than you're letting on. You could always just stop this now and save your strength." The bigger and smaller one turned to me and from their stances I could just imagine the scathing glares they were sending me from under those masks.

"You shut-up!" the older one snapped. "You don't know us so you can't say anything like that!"

"That's right; we're still able to beat you just wait and see," the younger one added. In my mind they were starting to sound more childish than their actual age portrayed.

"Is that so," I said somewhat bored.

"Are you dissin' us?" demanded the first. I could tell his temper was quickly rising. I put my hands up in mock surrender.

"No, no I'm pretty sure you've already proven to me and the world that one cannot simply 'dis' you. You are the infamous tag team of the Fox Troop after all."

"Tch, yeah and don't you forget it pal!" he growled. I straightened up then motioned for them to come with my hand.

"Well if you're feeling so confident, why don't you come and finish what you started?" I proposed. The first stood up and I could just see the grin he gave me in my mind's eye.

"Alright pops, but just remember, you asked for it!" he sneered. Then he turned to his brother.

"Get up!" he snapped.

"But brother, we wasted a lot of energy on this guy and that was only a shadow clone. Maybe we should call a tactical retreat for now?"

"And wuss out?" demanded the older. "No way; I don't ever back out of a challenge; you know that! Now stop actin' like a pansy and help me show im' what we got!" The younger once again, portrayed uncertainty in his body language.

"O-okay," he finally agreed. They got into their ready stances. Then after a moment of standing still, they both charged at me, the bigger one yelling the whole way. He definitely reminded me of Naruto although, he was slightly more hot headed and it seemed he was more confident when fighting with his brother. Now I knew what I had to do.

Once they were just a few meters before me, the older one flashed behind me and the younger flashed before me. It looked like they were going to try a larinette move but I was quicker than they were. First I caught their incoming fists and spun them finally sending them flying into a tree with a lot of strength. The younger coughed up blood on the inside of his mask.

"Tutt!" the elder cried. He turned to me seething with rage.

"You; I'll make you pay for that!" he roared. He came at me and tried to hit me but I disappeared leaving him clueless. Meanwhile, I'd tunneled underground and as he looked about for me, I was reminded of how I'd caught Sasuke off guard with this move.

"Damn it where is he!?" the older one seethed. He wasn't even paying attention to his senses now. They'd been dulled with his rage.

"Rutt!" I heard the younger shout out in warning. However, I caught his brother off guard as I was too quick in grabbing his ankle and effectively pulling him under the ground.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu," I called. Then I was out of the dirt and standing above him. The younger was now filled with anger and rushing at me.

"Why you; you'll pay!" he shouted. I cut him off with a kick to the gut that sent him back into the tree back first. After coughing up more blood, he slumped down to the ground unconscious. I watched him for a bit to see if he'd get up but that wasn't the case. I sighed.

"Good, now it's done," I said. I then straightened out some and sighed again.

"Grr, lemme go you old dirt-bag!" shouted the man in the ground. I cocked a curious eyebrow as I watched him.

"Grr ugh! Tutt…Tutt get up ya lazy fox n' help me! Stop bein' such a baby; you're okay; you're a demon so you're used to taking a beating. C'mon stop messin' around!" he shouted.

"It's no use," I told him. "Your brother is out for the count. Probably because you pushed him to overexert himself and when combined with my chakra enhanced taijutsu however little it was; he just wasn't up to the challenge. Now he's unconscious and you're in the ground."

"Just shut-up scumbag!" he shouted. I eyed him even more curiously.

"You know, at first I was prepared to fight against S-ranked criminals but right here in this fight…you and your brother made so many amateur mistakes I'm starting to question just how you got your status."

"I said shut-up!" he yelled back. He continued to struggle only moving the dirt about some with no effect. I turned to Pakkun and the other ninja hounds that were starting to come up to us.

"Excuse us Kakashi but I think that we can shed some light on this," Pakkun stated. I nodded.

"You seemed to know more about them than I did," I accused. Pakkun bowed his head apologetically.

"Well the thing is…while they might be demons and s-class criminals, the only real crimes they've committed together with the rest of the Fox Troop is thievery. They beat up your usual scum bag and mountain bandits every now and then whenever a ninja's unavailable but when it comes to ninja rank…" he nodded to biscuit who'd approached the other one across the way. Together they nodded then pulled off their masks.

"Hey, get away from us you mutts, leave us alone!" the one who'd been dubbed as Rutt earlier shouted. During his shout, his voice changed from that of a masculine man to that of a bratty preteen's as the mask was removed and his body became smaller as the illusion was lost.

Before me in the dirt was a twelve year old kid no older than my own students still struggling against his prison with his fox ears poking out and contrasting against his dark orange hair. Meanwhile, his brother's was lighter and his brother looked slightly weaker. I felt somewhat guilty knowing I'd used near full force with these kids.

"As you can see," Pakkun continued. "They're no older than your own students and are technically genin level at best. Plus since they're demon foxes they're more versed with using the old ways of power known as magic. That's what those flames were. That was fox fire, the magic used by the demon fox tribe and the kind they were using enhances physical abilities." I nodded in understanding.

"I see and overusing such a power is just as dangerous as over exerting one's physical strength with chakra in taijutsu. Too much and your body won't be able to take it. I take it that's the reason why your brother went down so easily. He's not used to using that much of his power." I turned now to the little fox demon in human form still struggling.

"And who the hell asked you old man?" he grumbled. "Just let me go!"

"Hmm…I don't think so," I stated. "Regardless of age and capability, you and your brother along with the rest of the Fox Troop are known as S-Ranked criminals throughout the five great nations. You're all demons but somehow you've learned how to use the ninja arts. You must have a teacher; some grand master who tells you what to do."

"Tch, I ain't talkin' n' there's no way you'll make me," he retorted. "Besides, our big sister's the only leader we answer to. Just because our partner taught us ninjutsu n' stuff, don't mean we follow his orders unless 'she' tells us too. So there!" I hummed in thought. Then I turned towards Pakkun.

"You seem to know a lot about the Fox Troop or at least more than we humans do," I stated. "Is there anything you can say about the Golden Red?" I asked. Pakkun exchanged glances with the rest of them then turned back to me.

"Only that through rumors we've heard – at least the ones we've discerned to be true – she's not originally from the Demon's Berth Mountains. They say she was born in one of the Great nations as a human child then was turned half demon by the spirit of the moon to preserve her life as she was born weak. Couldn't tell you more than that, sorry!" he apologized. I shook my head.

"No that's enough for now, thank you," I said. "Alright Pakkun, I'll leave you and the others to watch these two. I need to go and check on how the kiddies are doing." I saluted him with two fingers and a smile then vanished.

"You can count on us Kakashi!" he shouted back. Meanwhile, I was heading towards the one battle that had me concerned the most. Naruto…please hold on.


End file.
